During his precious little time as one of hip-hop’s most creative producers, the late J. Dilla crafted future-soul beats with their roots firmly planted in the Motown sound of his Detroit hometown. His "Champion Sound" collaboration with West Coast beatsmith Madlib is an overlooked gem in both of their catalogs, so it’s fitting that the fifth installment in Madlib’s Beat Konducta instrumental series would be a soul-infused tribute to a fellow creative spirit.

Patrick Varine

During his precious little time as one of hip-hop’s most creative producers, the late J. Dilla crafted future-soul beats with their roots firmly planted in the Motown sound of his Detroit hometown.

His "Champion Sound" collaboration with West Coast beatsmith Madlib is an overlooked gem in both of their catalogs, so it’s fitting that the fifth installment in Madlib’s Beat Konducta instrumental series would be a soul-infused tribute to a fellow creative spirit.

All told, "Dil Cosby Suite" is a relatively understated affair, heavy on crooning vocal swoops and lush, vinyl-scratchy instrumentation. The washing tremolo organ of “Floating” and smooth-jazz guitar that drives “The Mystery” are perfect for cruising around in the early-morning hours, and most of the album conjures up a midnight trip to the Dilla Drive-In, as Madlib’s rubbery basslines and jazzy beats pay homage to one of his most respected peers.

Though I will say that “Dirty Hop” is the 1,462,984th example that triplets have no place in hip-hop. None. Whatsoever. Also, the Stones Throw Web site lists the album as also featuring DJ J-Rocc, of legendary Bay-Area crew the Beat Junkies, but aside from a few scratches here and there, it’s hard to hear his contribution, unless he had some say in the sample selection.